When Kevin Smith made Clerks almost two decades ago, reputedly for a relative shoestring $27,575, it quickly became held up as an example of what could be achieved in ‘indie’ filmmaking. Marking the recent publication of American Independent Cinema: Indie, Indiewood and beyond, the screening is accompanied by a discussion on the past, present and future of American independent cinema, by two of the book’s editors, Professor Claire Molloy and Dr Yannis Tzioumakis.

A story of propaganda and political intrigue set in Chile in the final days of the Pinochet regime, directed by Pablo Larrain (Tony Manero), No won the Art Cinema Award, the top prize in the Directors’ Fortnight section at Cannes last year. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal as cynical (is there any other kind?) ad exec René, No offers a glimpse at the shady world of political doctrine in the wrong hands.

Hailing from Silver Lake, LA, Local Natives finally followed up 2009′s well-received debut Gorilla Manor last month with the release of Hummingbird. Written in the aftermath of touring with Arcade Fire and produced by The National’s Aaron Dessner, you’d have every right to make an educated guess at the new sound. An album with real emotional depth, one suspects it’ll be a pleasure to hear performed live.

With a move to Mann Island on the horizon, 2013 should be a year in which RIBA North West make some pretty big steps into the region’s cultural landscape. Joe Morris of architects Duggan Morris features in the latest of the Pushing Boundaries lecture series, which celebrates innovation and creativity in the fields of architecture and design.

Winner of Best Cinematography (Claudio Miranda) and Special Visual Effects at Sunday’s BAFTAs, fantasy adventure Life of Pi is back in timely fashion at the Phil. Based on Yann Martel’s Mann Booker Prize-winning novel, the movie features Rafe Spall and Gerard Depardieu, though newcomer Suraj Sharma (who narrowly missed out to Juno Temple for a Rising Star Award) arguably puts in the performance of the film.

PICK OF THE WEEK: Thursday – Casablanca 7.45 pm @ the Bombed Out Church

There are Valentine’s Day screenings and then there are Valentine’s Day screenings. This Thursday, courtesy of Urban Strawberry Lunch at the Bombed Out Church, you can catch a wonderfully eclectic trio of what can loosely be termed love stories. Sandwiched between Kar Wai Wong’s beautiful In The Mood For Love and The Bride of Frankenstein (we did say it was eclectic) is the timeless Casablanca (main pic).

The final piece in his trilogy of Molière adaptations (following Tartuffe and The Hypochondriac), The Misanthrope sees Roger McGough back with his take on French farce in the 17th century world of The Misanthrope.

With second EP Shadows, Bird combined their irrefutable flair for harnessing powerful vocals with a leap in songwriting, leading to airplay on BBC Radio One and BBC 6 Music (described by 6 Music DJ Steve Lamacq as “eerily good”). This week sees the release of latest EP, Ophelia.

“Dress up to get down” they say at Speakeasy Liverpool, and this Saturday gives you no better excuse for doing so, ushering in as it does, the return of Riot Jazz. A nine-piece self-described ‘aggro-jazz brass ensemble’, Riot Jazz serve up an intoxicating mix of of funk, soul, hiphop and aggressive jazz.

Sunday – Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry 7.30pm @ Eric’s £25

Producer to Bob Marley, special guest star on the Beastie Boys’ Hello Nasty and roundly acknowledged ‘Godfather of Dub’, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry may be racing toward octogenarian status, but don’t let that stop you catching him in full flow this Sunday at Eric’s. Full preview.

What’s hot this week? Our pick of the listings from around Liverpool...

We are

An online magazine featuring the latest arts, design, film & music coverage in the UK. Our mission: to hold a mirror up to the national -- in particular the North-West -- art scene and reflect it, uncovering and analysing the talent based here.